The Son of The Sons (Of Liberty)
by ghend19
Summary: Hamilton gets de-aged, and everyone spends their time being fluffy instead of trying to fix it. Not complete - Just getting updated as I fulfil requests Chapters so far: - Deaged, Jefferson/Maddison, Sick!Alex - Laurens Hercules Lafayette, Attempted Kidnap, So Fluffy - WashingDad!, Shopping - !Peggy!, Cooking, Stupid Pinterest ideas - Sick!Maddison but then Sick!Alex (Agai
1. 1: Where the Whitehouse gets a Baby

Alexander Hamilton, much to his friends' annoyance, fraternised with trouble at a frankly alarming frequency. It wasn't that he sought it, it just seemed to come knocking at his office door bearing gifts, in this instance; a particularly annoyed brunette who, after a suspicious light show and few muffled noises that went unnoticed, stormed her way back through the main entrance, a bemused John Laurens looking up at the slamming of a door.

"John? Is everything alright out here?"

Tugging his earphones out, John turned towards the President in confusion, before a look of understanding dawned on his face;

"Yeah Sir, I think Hamilton managed to piss off another senator though."

Heaving a sigh, Washington, with Laurens in tow, trudged to a door bearing a well-worn placard, the "Hamilton" almost indistinguishable under black scrawls (The result of a particularly public office war with Jefferson).

"Hamilton, Son, is everything okay?"

Standing back in preparation for a verbal onslaught to be thrown out the door, both men tensed at the fumbling of the door handle, standing frozen as timid eyes peeked out from a barely-opened door.

"Who 'r you?"

"Sooo, you're saying _this_ is Hamilton?"

Jefferson's disgusted tone was belayed by his soft cooing at the child on his lap, who, upon introduction to the man, had shimmied his way into his arms and wound his fingers firmly between his curls.

"So it seems; We have no idea how this happened, but due to his solo living arrangements, he's going to need to go somewhere daily."

Looking down at Washington's address, Cabinet shifted in their seats in their attempts to avoid the obvious solution, Jefferson suddenly becoming preoccupied in drawing the jacket Alex was swaddled in tighter,

"I say we dump him in a Day Care until it wears off!"

Venomous glances were aimed towards Vice President John Adams as he smirked triumphantly, ignorant of the possessive scowls that adorned everyone's faces, Maddison and Jefferson looking particularly murderous.

"But, I suppose, that could pose a national threat if it were found out, could it not…?"

Bestowing an approving glance upon Burr, Washington nodded wisely at the question, levelling an even glare at Adams as he opened his mouth to protest.

"He'll stay here each day. Jefferson, Maddison, he can go home with you – However I expect ieveryone/i to look after him."

As Washington swept out of the room, Jefferson gave a startled jolt at the noise from just below his chin, melting in adoration as he glanced upon Alex suckling on this tips of his hair sleepily.

Eliza Schuyler was on a warpath this morning, striding down the corridor, skirts flowing dramatically as she slammed open the doors to an unsuspecting Washington,

"He's hiding."

Rolling his eyes, the President silenced the insignificant politician on the other side of the desk as he left the room, striding into the staff kitchen and halting suddenly enough that Eliza almost ran into him, diaper bag swaying by her side. A hitched whimper came from a small cupboard in the back corner, the door open a fraction; enough for Eliza to see the glimmer of teary brown eyes.

"Alex, sweetie, we don't care that you had an accident, honestly, there wasn't even a mess to clean."

Kneeling down in front of the cupboard, Eliza's expression softened, her eyebrows drawing up in a confused appeal to Washington as he stood spectating.

"Son-"

 _"_ _I'm not your son!"_

"-We have plenty of diapers, so many that to not use them would be a waste, would you like to use one for us?"

Hinges creaked painfully slowly as a tiny tousled head poked out from inside, tear tracks trailing down a pitifully thin face,

"… Really?"

Nodding softly in affirmation, Eliza opened her arms to a soggy toddler, his sobs starting anew as he fisted her hair, clutching at soft strands as she lead him to the changing table, setting him down to change him.

"Hey little man, how are going?"

Alex's eyes flickered open from where they'd unknowingly been drifting shut, as he gazed passively upon Maddison, reaching out to seize the huge man's fingers and suck on them as Eliza finished buttoning up his overalls again.

"G'ud"

Letting out a deep molten laugh Maddison lifted Alex into his arms, curling him against his chest where Alex could hear each deep inhale and exhale the man took, slowly getting lulled to sleep as James and Thomas collected their things for the day.

"Alex, you have to eat the rest of this applesauce before bedtime, okay?"

Thomas slumped as Alex shook his head frantically, sweaty ringlets bouncing as he firmly shut his mouth against more food. The boy was practically emaciated but wouldn't any decent sized amount of food.

"Please?"

Thomas' voice cracked desperately as he looked at the child, who's mouth immediately sprung open at the adult's distress.

"There, much better, thank you Alexander."

Mouth pulling up into a teary grin, Alex finished the last few mouthfuls of the originally small-serving, and threw his arms up as James walked over, releasing a small giggle as he was placed on the tall man's shoulders, directing him over to Thomas who stood at the sink cleaning dishes.

Alex woke up in the middle of the night and his tummy _hurt_. Chewing on his fist wetly, he whimpered softly, curling into a little ball.

Thomas was the first to wake up, the recently acquired baby monitor emitting small sounds of distress. Stumbling half-asleep to Alex's room, he turned on a dim light, yelling to Maddison as he saw the toddler's distress, and on closer inspection, where he'd been sick in the night.

Grabbing an emergency bottle, that Alex really should have grown out of, he prepared it while nursing the kid on his hip, silently cringing as his clothes were covered in half-digested applesauce. As Maddison took the dirty sheets to the laundry, the men shared a commiserating glance before re-grouping in their bedroom, Thomas bring a newly-changed Alex to the bed with him as they both curled around the child, his sleepy soft puffs lulling the men to sleep.


	2. 2: (I stole the title from this chapter)

"I have all of his things in here, and his dietary schedule-'

"Jefferson, we will be _fine_ , now leave, before Maddison drives off without you."

Pressing a quick kiss to Alex's head, Jefferson handed the boy off to Laurens before ducking out the door, pretending to catch a sloppy kiss the toddler blew at him. Chuckling at the uncharacteristic antics of the politician, John closed the door, and wiped away Alex's drool as he lead him into the living room, where Lafayette and Hercules had finished arranging a play area.

"It's looking good; you guys did an awesome job!"

Grinning at Alex, Hercules murmured a thank-you as he swooped in and lifted the boy up into the air, making him 'fly' to Lafayette, Alex gasping in delight as he was placed on the tall-man's shoulders, nestling into the voluminous and soft hair.

"Now that we've got that sorted for tomorrow, how about we spend the rest of the day at the park?"

Looking up at John from where he was curled over Lafayette's head, Alex looked up hopefully, eyes glistening in excitement as he started bouncing silently, his arms flailing. Catching them and pulling him down, Hercules laughed at the toddler's excitement, holding him steading as John caught kicking feet and strapped his shoes on,

"But there are rules;"

Stopping short, Alex cocked his head, nervously looking up at the 3 men in hesitant curiosity.

"You've gotta promise us you won't go out of sight, and when we call, you need to come straight back to where we've set up the picnic,"

"Picn'c?!"

Rolling his eyes as Alex perked up again, Lafayette tickled the child until he promised to listen to the rules, his pledge interrupted intermittently with giggles.

Alexander laughed openly at Lafayette's and Hercules' antics as they swapped the sandwich plate with the cake plate repeatedly, their playful debate just loud enough to be heard from the playground, where he was hiding, coyly looking back at John who grinned widely and gave him a questioning thumbs up, Alex flashed a quick thumb up in return, before getting dragged back into which game the children were playing.

"John! Tell Hercules the cheese in the sandwiches will go sweaty if we leave it in the sun—

"Well tell Laf that the icing will melt if the cupcakes go there instead—

"Softened icing is _nice_ you Meathead!"

Laughing at the petty insults, John watched the argument volley between the 2 men, the language getting increasing more embellished until finally lunch had been set up, a compromise having been reached.

"Do you wanna go get Alex, John?"

Slowly getting up from the blanket, John nodded, a sinking feeling making its way into his chest as he walked closer to the playground, not one hiding spot yielding the toddler he was seeking. Walking up to the group of children, he crouched down to speak to a little girl,

"Hi sweetie, I was looking for my little boy; He was playing with you guys?"

Pointing a drool-covered fist in the direction of some heavy tree cover, the girl gestured shyly,

"He went w'th the man"

A sharp whip of panic struck John as he carefully asked more,

"What man sweetie?"

"Tha man who was his mum's fr'nd"

Throwing a thanks over his shoulder as the girl resumed playing, John sprinted back to Lafayette and Hercules as they sat up from where they sprawled;

"He's been taken by a man who said he was friends with his mum and we should have _told_ him not to go off with strangers and of course he'd want to go back to his mother and if I had –

"JOHN, calm down mon ami, we will find him, I am messaging Georgie now, he will be found soon."

"S-sir, I want 'Lafay"

The grip around his wrist tightened further as Alex pulled weakly against it. When the man had approached him he had been so sure that he would see Mama again, because he loved Thoma, and Maddi, and Herculé and Jean and Lafay, and the ladies with their big billowing skirts and soft hair, but no one had told him where mama was and for her to be home for lunch was _such_ a treat that when the man had offered, _of course_ Alex had followed!

He was starting to regret it now, his wrist aching and shins stinging from where he'd been dragged a little after losing his footing, but sure that the man hadn't heard him the first time, he opened his mouth to shriek;

"SIR, I WANT LAFAY."

" _shut up you_ brat!"

Breathe hitching at the harsh response, Alex shut his mouth, anger slowly mounting, his tiny body tensing as his anger peaked, because he _just wanted to see Lafay again._

The man holding his hand bellowed loudly and released his grip in shock as Alex buried his teeth into the large hand that was a vice around his own. Staring at the adult as he hunched over in pain with wide eyes, Alex shook himself and promptly turned and sprinted through undergrowth, twigs whipping into his face as he ducked through bushes, the pounding of his pursuers footsteps melting into the thump of his heart in his head, keeping him running until his tiny body lost all breathe and he curled up into a ball within the dead leaves that piled around him.

"JOHN!"

The 3 anxious men turned around to see Washington, Jefferson and Maddison stride to the playground, some Whitehouse security guards following up behind them.

"He was taken into the forest, roughly from there,"

Laurens gestured towards where the girl had indicted, his finger pointing directly at a hooded-man as he emerged from the forest, shaking out his hand.

John gaped at the man for a second before gesticulating wildly at the figure,

"I saw – He was… Alexander!"

George glared darkly at the man, nodding at his security and following them at a sedate pace as they strode up and seized him.

"The boy, where is he?"

Looked confused, the man pulled at arms restricting him in a futile effort, looking more panicked as the men flocked him.

"I don't know—"

Jefferson scanned the man as he spoke, interrupting his protests as he pulled yanked open the stranger's fist, bearing small teeth marks. Pulling it higher to show to the surrounding men, Jefferson levelled a glare at the man, conveying all possible threats in a deadly glance.

"I really don't! He ran!"

Indicating that his men give the offender to the police gathering at the edge of the park, Washington turned around to confer with his men;

"We partner up. Thomas & James, Hercules & John, Gilbert you're with me. We'll each cover a third of its width, text immediately if you find him."

Bearing forward into the tree cover, the search began.

It was George who heard the noise first, straightening an arm in front of Lafayette to stop the man.

"Do you here that?"

The ruffling of leaves filled the silence, and as the breeze faded, the quietest sniff broke through the silence. Both men raced over to the bush, Lafayette being the first to hesitantly call out;

"Alexandré, mon petite lion, you are safe to come out, we are here now."

Suddenly a warm weight was curled into Lafayette's jacket as he stumbled back into George, instinctively cradling the boy against him.

"Shhh, shh, you're okay now, we've got you."

Looking up from his phone, George smiled gently at his tiny Treasury Secretary,

"C'mon Alexander, I hear there's a picnic just waiting for you,"

"If the cheese hasn't gone soggy"

Lafayette's murmured remark coaxed a small giggle from the toddler in his arms, who looked up intently at the Frenchman.

"What is it, Alex?"

The boy stared a little longer before reaching up to entwine his fingers in the mane of Lafayette's ponytail.

"I J'st, missed you a l't Lafay'."


	3. 3: Grampa G'Wash and Shops

"You're serious- No one can take him?"

"No Sir, Sorry Sir."

Dismissing his secretary with a vague wave to the door, Washington turned his attention to the diapered boy on the desk in front of him, is face widening in a smile as the wiped up drool off the over-sized white shirt of Lauren's he was wearing.

"So I guess it's just us today, huh Bud?"

Alex gurgled adorably in approval, the edge his shirt lifting up over his chubbier legs to reveal bandages wrapped around his stubby legs, as he raised his arms to be picked up, clawing at the air.

Cooing at the boy, George obliged to the unspoken request, pulling in the boy who promptly burrowed into his coat once he was close enough.

"Hey Little Man, what do you think you want to do today?"

Looking down to seek shining eyes beneath a dark fringe, the older man laughed as he spotted a shy grin, nuzzling down and blowing raspberries on the toddler's rosy cheeks,

"So?"

Smile faltering a little as he stopped giggling, Alex looked searchingly up at George, who leant forward in desperation to hear any quiet response; Alex had spoken very little after The Park Incident, and while he wasn't panicked returning to the park (guaranteed someone was always close) his words were still sparse a few days after the incident, and his wounds still sore.

"Um, Sh'p?"

"Ship??"

Flailing an indignant arm at George, Alex protested, loudly exclaiming

"shop!"

"You mean, Shap? What's a shap?"

Bursting into peals of laughter at the exaggeratedly bemused expression on the man's face, Alex crowed louder,

"SHOP! O-o-o!"

His face relaxing in a relieved grin, George responded, his tone saturated with dawning understanding,

"Oooooh, you mean shop"

"Ye!"

Placing the boy back on his feet and grabbing his hand, the pair walked slowly through the Whitehouse, to George's rooms,

"Well I guess we'll have to get you dressed, huh?"

"No!"

After a battle with some particularly evil overalls, George stood next to a fully clothed little boy, and waved off his driver from where he stood near the door; They would do this properly.

"G'byyye! G'byee!"

The Whitehouse staff gave small waves and smiles to the toddler as he innocently gave sweeping waves as he made his way down the path, ridiculously talkative for someone who hadn't uttered more than 10 words for the past week.

The walk to the store was a slow affair, every 10 metres being graced with an excited gasp, a skip to whatever caught Alex's eye, 3 minutes of praising and complimenting (In George's face), before an adorable hop-step to the next item.

In the end a 200m walk took little over an hour, and Alex had ended up sprawled in the stroller Washington bought just in case, only to be rejuvenated at the sight of the store, doors opening as George strode through.

Quick as a whip Alex had leap to his feet, circling around a flower display before halting, the tips of his shoes lining up 5cm away from those of Washington.

"Trolley, or walking?"

Head flicking between the proffered hand and the trolley in a very visible dilemma, exhaustion eventually won over as Alex pointed at the trolley. Lifting him up and depositing him in the seat, George smiled as the boy straightened his back at first movement of the trolley.

"G- g.. Look here!"

Filing back Alex's inability to say his name for later, George turned his head to where Alex was pointing insistently, stroking his hair in a silent attempt to calm the boy down as people started to look over amusedly."You want this, 'Lil Man?"

Nodding at a dizzying speed, the toddler craned out to reach the fluffy tomcat dressed in military regalia, squealing excitedly and smooshing the animal to his face as it was handed to him.

"Now for some groceries??"

Reduced to hitting the metal around him in pure joy, 'Lex beamed around his toy, leaning forward in all the intensity his little body could manage, as they 'hunted' down their required foodstuffs.

After most of the aisles had been navigated, the pair made their way back to the checkout, "talking" over their purchases.

"Um Sir, that child is creating Quite the racket, may you kindly tell him to shut his mouth?"

Glaring fiercely at the woman, Washington placed a possessive hand on top of Alex's curls, where he'd just stopped excitedly rambling about the pink cake they would make with the newly acquired strawberry cake-mix.

"With all due respect, m'am I see his vocalisations no more offensive than the mess your child has made in aisle 3-"

"What?"

Giving a sharp jerk of the head to just behind the lady, she turned and gave a horrified gasp as her daughter position herself, butt in the air, to lick up milk that had obviously been dropped and split onto the store's floor.

Stuttering an apology, she sprinted over to the disaster site, scooping up her daughter in a gripping hug. Looking up at George, Alex beamed,

"Cake?"

"Yeah Alex, why don't you tell me more about the cake?"

The walk home was less of the hectic experience the arrival was, instead the toddler drawled sleepily about other foods they had gotten; The carrot shaped like a bird when craftily combined with wings of lettuce by George, the different colours of ice-cream, which had lead to a series of small hand prints being plastered along the side of the display case (George had texted the kitchen staff only moments later, requesting some different flavours be made) and the different coloured juices.

"I love col'rs G'pa"

Missing a single step as the endearing title dropped out of a clumsily fatigued mouth, George collected himself, murmuring a soft

"Yeah Alex, there are a lot too; What's your favourite?"

And as the last dregs of awareness left Alex's tiny body, and he slumped deeply into his stroller, nuzzling his new toy's fur, George caught a whispered,

"Bl'u, b'caus' it's wh't you w'r G'pa."


	4. 4: Peggy and messes

"Peggy! Are you free to babysit on Sunday?"

"Uhh, no, sorry, I'm… busy"

Ignoring Eliza as she rolled her eyes, Peggy flickered her hand dismissively to the door, eyes staying glued to her phone,

"Damn, it's a shame that Alex isn't free for you to babysit on Saturday,"

"Yeah, totally, it sucks man."

Looking up in alarm as her sister cackled, Peggy mulled over the conversation for a second, stiffening as she realised her mistake, tuning back into Eliza's gloating,

"-rop him off at 6am Saturday, he'll still be sleepy, then he'll pick him up again at 10. Bedtime is 6, try and get him to eat as much as you can, right? But make it healthy, he needs to grow—"

"'Liza this is all good and well, but I cannot handle children."

Patting her sister condescendingly on the cheek, Eliza threw a quick

"You'll be fine, dear,"

and flitted through the door before Peggy could collect itself.

"Well shit."

Holding a child, Peggy decided, was A Lot harder in practise, the toddler seemed to melt through her arms, an arm, leg, or god forbid a tiny head, slipping through a gap in her awkward cradle as she fumbled with him at the front door. Smiling gently, Maddison helped her rearrange her grip, waiting until the boy was settled to kiss him softly on the forehead, squeezing Peggy's arm and smiling assuredly,

"You'll do fine, just be yourself, he'll love you."

Watching her last chance of salvation get into the car with Jefferson and drive off, Peggy glanced tenderly, if not a little nervously, at the child in her arms, deciding to lay him in a nest of pillows she had made in the living room in preparation.

"G'pa? Maddi, Thoma?"

As Alex roused from his sleep after a few hours, Peggy shushed him gently, wondering about the sheer stupidity required to leave a child with a complete stranger.

"Hey Alex, I'm Eliza and Angelica's sister,"

"Angel, Betsey?"

As Alex stretched his mouth adorably round the 2 nicknames, Peggy nodded,

"Yeah, I'm Peggy, their sister!"

Bending down close enough that her breathe tickled hair that curled around his ears, she exaggeratedly loudly whispered

"Don't tell anyone, but my real name is Margarita!"

Giggling softly and pawing his ear at sensation, Alex gave a hesitant

"Maggie?"

Laughing at the absurdity of the new name, Peggy scooped up the boy, swinging him onto her hip and heading towards the kitchen.

"Sounds good, how about breakfast?"

"Cereal? Toast? Porridge? Bacon? Eggs? Bacon AND Eggs?"

Sighing in exasperation as Alex shook his head at each breakfast food, Peggy leaned over the counter to where he sat in his high-chair, and crooned temptingly;

"Waffles, with chocolate, and bananas, and raspberry compote?"

Alex stopped short in his chair, cocking his head in curiosity as he sounded out

"Waf-fle?"

Gasping loudly, Peggy flipped her hair over her shoulder and rolled up her sleeves,

"Well this Will Not Do, we're gonna have to make some so you can try them, aren't we?"

Clapping his hands in response, Alex nodded enthusiastically, reaching for the half-filled bottle Peggy prepared to tie him over while breakfast was made.--

The laying out of the ingredients, Peggy thought, should have been the easiest part, but as a cloth in the sink lay yellow with the yolk from a broken egg, and Alex licked up a concoction of flour and sugar that covered them both, she figured that Alex was going to challenge her every assumption.

"Okay, the ingredients are set and ready; now we just mix!"

Multiple hours later, Peggy and Alex stood hand to hand in a kitchen covered in food Peggy didn't know she had, a wiped down counter holding plates bursting with differing kinds of waffles, surrounded by bowls containing a multitude of toppings.

"Cleaning?"

Looking down at the toddler gripping her hand, she nodded gravely, pulling out her phone and clicking onto her music playlist;

"We're gonna need music to survive this."

"FERGALICIOUS DEFINTION MAKE THEM BOYS GO LOCO,"

Alex went adorably cross eyed as Peggy bopped him on the noise, shaking his head and continuing to crawl around on the mop-heads Peggy had taped to his knees and hands

("Hey, I saw it on Pinterest first")

"YOU COULD SEE ME, YOU CAN'T SQUEEZE ME"

Accenting the singing with a swing of her hips, and a quick wring of her cloth, Peggy gave a final flourish with her cloth, before turning down the music and shucking off Alex's cleaning apparel.

"And I **think** we're done here!"

Beaming adoringly up at Peggy, Alex clung tight to her as she sat up at the table, dishing up 2 plates of waffles, piled with a small amount of each topping.

As Alex devoured his food, Peggy looked guiltily up at the clock; breakfast had run very, very late.

Looking down affectionately at the boy in her lap as he slobbered over his tiny fist in efforts to get all the honey he may have missed, she poked him teasingly in the stomach,

"Do we have a little Winnie the Pooh here?"

Alex smiled and nodded hesitantly, his eyes shining with confusion,

"Do you know who Winnie the Pooh is?"

At the shake of his head, Peggy rolled her eyes in fond exasperation of her sister's inability to introduce Alex to the essentials, and sat patiently while he finished his breakfast (Now late lunch)

"How about we fix that then?"

Nodding around a mouthful of waffle, Alex mustered all the childish energy he could, and tore through the rest of his meal, too excited to think about how much he was eating.

As the familiar tune of Winnie the Pooh plodded its way through Peggy's living room for yet another episode (She had coveted all the VHS' she could from her childhood, and was reaping the benefits as she watched Alex look at the characters, eyes shining) she grabbed her knitting basket, discretely pulling out some orange and black wool, and after quietly googling a pattern, fell into the rhythm of her task, only halting when Alex crawled upon the couch next to her, curling into her side.

"Hello?"

A familiar call roused Peggy from her slumber, her eyes blinking open as she took in Jefferson smiling amusedly at the scene; An awkwardly positioned Peggy, Alex sprawling across her lap, a tigger hat firmly pulled over his curls, mouth still smeared slightly with chocolate.

"Have a good time?"

Flipping Jefferson off, Peggy went to haul her ass up off the sofa, but was stopped as Thomas placed a hand on her shoulder,

"I've got him, you stay put."

Scooping up Alex, he paused to let Peggy give him a fond farewell kiss on both his cheeks, startling a little as a tiny

"G'night Maggie,"

dropped sleeping from the toddler's mouth.


	5. 5: Maddi(my)Son is Sick

James Maddison wasn't sick. Well he was, but he was also in 6 feet of denial, and 7 feet of overdue work due to his few days indisposed with entertaining Alex. He swept his hand over his sweaty forehead again, breathing through his nausea as started on his next document.

"Jamie?"

Rousing himself from his sickly daze, James looked up at Jefferson blearily,

"Yeah Babe?"

Running a concerned hand through the man's short hair, Jefferson eyed his partner, noting the drooping eyes,

"You okay?"

Visibly rousing himself, James murmured his affirmative, excusing his deterioration as exhaustion, feeling guilty as he blamed Alex.

"You sure?"

Accepting Maddison's excuse with a sceptical expression, Jefferson swept a comforting arm down the broad man's spine, leaving him to his work.

A few minutes later, Maddison was once again drawn from his work, where he had fallen into a productive stupor of words and typing.

"Maddi?"

Looking up quickly, startled, James eyed the toddler by the door warily, before freezing and staggering out the door, past Alex, to the toilet as his stomach rolled.

A soft, hesitant hand on his back, patting clumsily, comforted James as he hunched over the sink,

"Better?"

Washing out his mouth, James nodded gently, holding Alex's hand as he walked back to his office.

"No!"

Staring confusedly at the toddler, Maddison raised an eyebrow as Alex started tugging him towards the exit.

"Alex, I need to go back to work?"

Shaking his head determinedly, Alex continued to march towards the door, gripping James' hand in a fiercely tight grip.

"'Lex, bud, I really need to go back to work, I'm fine now."

"NO!"

The shout drew the attention of Washington and Jefferson, who came out of the Washington's office, where they'd been discussing some paperwork at length. As they emerged, Maddison shared a commiserating glance with them as he stood still, Alex hanging off his arm.

"What's happening?"

Ignoring the warning glance getting shot at him by James, Alex planted himself to the floor, sternly looking up at the men as he declared

"Maddi was sick and now we're going home so he can get better!"

Shaking his head as the boy started speaking, Maddison opened his mouth to refute this, but was silenced by a look from Jefferson.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea, how about I come back too?"

Washington nodded, leaving Thomas to deal with his boys as he headed back into his office.

Ignoring any protests, Thomas and Alex collectively hauled Maddison to the car, disregarding any protests as they pushed him into his seat. Climbing into his lap and curling up on his chest, Alex "pinned Maddi down," Jefferson, in the front seat, laughing behind his hand at Alex's thinly veiled desire to cuddle.

As they pulled into the driveway, James went to lift a dozing Alex, being stopped gently as Thomas took the boy, gesturing that James should go in first.

"Bed, now."

Rolling his eyes in mock exasperation, Maddison's annoyance was belayed as he smiled thankfully at his partner, flopping exhaustedly onto the bed.

"Maddi! Maddi!"

Whispering his name in excitement, a now awake Alexander stood at the edge of the bed, beaming back as James smiled at him sleepily, lifting his arms to reveal boxes of medicine, an icepack, and his treasured bottle, empty.

"I got everything!"

"Hey James, Have you se—"

Smiling sheepishly at Thomas from a nest of pillow and cushions, and other miscellaneous items, James gestured an arm to the appropriate medicine on top of the pile Alex had bought in.

"I think my caretaker has me sorted."

Restraining himself from giggling, Thomas nodded, collecting the excess medicine and leaving the door open to come in moments later, arms outstretched to pick up Alex.

"Nuh uh!"

Staring in momentary shock as his arms were hit away, Jefferson looked up again at Alex, reaching out again to pick up the child.

"I'm not leaving!"

"Alex!"

"NO!"

Stopping short as Alex's voice cracked as he started tearing up, Thomas bent down to his level,

"You'll get sick, darling."

"I won't leave him!"

Staring searchingly at the boy, Jefferson nodded, backing off and sharing a telling glance with Maddison,

"You two get some sleep."

It was the next morning when Jefferson checked on his boys again, his feet padding on the wooden floor as he walked in from the guest room. Sighing heavily at the scene that greeted him, Thomas swept down and pressed his hand against a feverish Alex's forehead. Looking up at a newly-recovered James, he nodded, and they scooped up the boy between them in tandem, carrying him between them to the bathroom, where Maddison nursed him as Thomas ran the bath.

"Wha'?"

As Alex stirred, James carded a hand through his curls, murmuring to the boy that they were just going to run a bath because he was sick. Loosening his grasp as the boy pulled back, Maddison was taken completely aback as the toddler yelled in distress and wiggled his way out of the man's grip, running out the door in only his shirt.

"Thomas!"

James groaned in distress as Thomas turned around, staring at the lack of Alex.

"We need to find him!"

Hauling the other man off the floor, Jefferson turned off the bath, and they strode out the door together, searching the house together.

"C'mon Alex, we need to have a bath!"

Crooning tempting to the boy, both men heaved exhaustedly as they lay on the floor, looking under the bed where Alex curled.

"I'll g't you sick t'"

Shaking his head desperately, Maddison looked the child in the eyes, his smile a desperate one of honest appeal;

"Thomas never gets sick, and I can't get sick again! My body already fought off the nasty germs, they don't wanna fight me again!"

Giggling through tears, Alex finally crawled out from under the bed, Thomas smiling gratefully at James as his back was granted a reprieve from his awkward positioning on the floor.

"Bath now?"

Smiling in agreement, Jefferson pulled Alex into his arms, melting a little as the boy curled his hands into his hair, reminiscent of the first time they met.

"B'bbles too?"

James smiled at the boy as he peered over Thomas' broad shoulder,

"Uh huh – The whole bottle!

Alex smiled, his next statement cut off by a small cough, his frown easing into a small smile as Jefferson rubbed his back,

"You okay?"

Alex murmured an affirmative, leaning back to stare at Thomas with shining eyes.

"Thanks Thoma' 'n Maddi"

"Our pleasure, Alex."


	6. Not a chapter, just an update

Wow okay so is just hard to navigate and doesn't seem to have an area where I can submit footnotes, so instead I'm just creating a new chapter for this.

1) Will I continue to post? Honestly, I don't know - I came back to this today and are contemplating writing another chapter, so for now, I think I will

2) I stole this? Okay so I laughed very hard the first time I read this review, the idea of someone wanting to steal this is a little laughable, But I can understand the confusion as my ao3 username is different to that of my username, but to clarify, I'm the same author, just putting it out there on multiple platforms.

3) I just disliked the idea of only have 2 points, but that's pretty much it! Feel free to send in a request; I have a few that have compounded over the 6? Months I just didn't look at this, so I'll try work my way through them.

Thanks Guys


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